A unique opportunity to contribute to a pan-European initiative to reduce drug shortages

Following ISPE’s 2013 Drug Shortages Survey and the Society’s commitment to seek best-practice solutions to the problems identified, ISPE today announces a line-up of activities that will bring pharmaceutical industry stakeholders together at its first European annual conference, a unique collaboration aimed at addressing issues leading to shortages in the European drug supply.

The ISPE Europe Annual Conference provides the one opportunity in Europe during 2014 to contribute to interactive discussion sessions on this groundbreaking, multi-association collaborative effort to address manufacturing and quality problems that have the potential to deny patients access to critical medicines.

Beginning Monday 28th April 2014 the Executive Forum will bring together representatives from all the associations contributing to an Inter-Association task force that is responding to the European Medicines Agency request to submit to them a report on how shortages resulting from manufacturing problems could be prevented. This task force, moderated by ISPE, will include representatives from the Parenteral Drug Association, the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association, and European trade associations representing innovator, generic and self-medication industries. Additionally, the European trade associations will report on their complimentary project on ideas to improve the communication of shortages. A question and answer session that includes Brendan Cuddy (EMA) and regulators from national authorities will enable delegates to gain further insight into the initiatives and provide their input into the projects.

An extensive panel discussion with industry and regulatory representatives will provide further opportunities to influence the course of the shortages projects, further areas for follow-up research, and pathways to improving processes that could mitigate or avoid shortages.

Learn more about ISPE’s Drug Shortages update during the Europe Annual Conference at this link.